‘Harry Potter’ Star Evanna Lynch to Headline ‘Influenced!’ Inspired by Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ – Global Bulletin (2024)

CASTING

Evanna Lynch, the actor best known for portraying Luna Lovegood in the Harry Potter franchise, will star in “Influenced!,” a black comedy set in the world of social media influencers that has been inspired by Oscar Wilde’s classic 1891 novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray.” Lynch will play Dora, a makeup sales assistant who goes on to become one of the world’s biggest influencers. But the more ruthless Dora becomes in her pursuit of insta-fame the more grotesque and distorted her social media profile photo also becomes. Nick Wild wrote and will direct.

The film will shoot in Q1 2024 in the U.K. and Italy and is to be produced by Silent D pictures’ Djonny Chen and Alchemy’s Lamia Nayeb St Hilaire, with casting by Nicci Topping. “Influenced!” will be Chen’s 26th film in the last three years and part of a repertoire that includes Indonesian box-office hit “Before Night Falls” and “Parallel,” which is currently in production.

The project has particular resonance for Lynch who, in addition to her acting work, is also a writer and activist and promotes mental wellness and positive body image in young people after her own experiences with an eating disorder.

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Lynch said: “Nick has written a hilarious script that vividly illustrates the slow mental and moral degradation that befalls a person who loses sight of the line between reality and a filtered imaginary life. With the algorithm always ten steps ahead, intuiting our next thought, ‘Influenced!’ is the story of an everyday trap that none of us can seem to avoid. I’m so excited to be playing Dora and to help bring this dark, interesting and ominous story to life.”

Wild added: “Developing this project has been a passion project of mine for the last few years and we are really excited to be working with Evanna to deliver a contemporary spin on this classic story. Oscar Wilde’s themes of identity and self-image are still so relevant and, if anything, have been amplified by the current cultural obsession to show our validation and worth by how many followers you have and the face-filtered Instagram posts of your #bestlife.”

Publicist Philippe Ashfield at Instant Entertainment is handling PR for the project.

STREAMING

Netflix India has set a creative partnership with Neeraj Pandey’s Friday Storytellers LLP, the digital content production arm of Friday Filmworks. Following the success of cop-criminal chase saga “Khakee: The Bihar Chapter,” the partnership will include multiple projects across films and series. The second season of “Khakee” will be the first series arising from the deal.

MEGASTAR’S NEXT

India’s Telugu-language cinema actor Chiranjeevi, known to his fans as Megastar, has announced his next film, a fantasy with the working title Mega157, signifying the actor’s 157th film. It will be directed by Vassishta (“Bimbisara”) and produced by V. Vamsi Krishna Reddy, Pramod Uppalapati and Vikram Reddy under the UV Creations banner. Chiranjeevi’s last film “Bhola Shankar” released earlier this month and underperformed at the box office.

PARTNERSHIPS

Netherlands TV provider Ziggo and SkyShowtime are extending their partnership. Starting this fall, SkyShowtime will be provided to TV Max subscribers replacing the Movies and Series XL package and as an extra benefit for customers who combine their Ziggo and Vodafone subscriptions replacing Movies and Series L. Subscribers will have full access to the entire SkyShowtime service and will be notified by Ziggo when they can set up their accounts.

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India’s Reliance Content Studios (RCS), a division of Reliance Entertainment Studios Pvt Ltd, has expanded its reseller partnership with American stock photography, stock footage, stock music and editing tools provider Shutterstock Inc. With this enhanced partnership, RCS will offer a wider range of assets from Shutterstock. In addition to its bank of images, videos, illustrations, music tracks and vectors, Shutterstock also provides AI-generated images, which are created using AI technology trained on millions of real content assets, descriptions and keywords. This feature is offered with indemnification for the license and use of generative AI images for RCS’ enterprise customers. Additionally, the partnership will provide Indian customers with access to Shutterstock’s library of over one million ready-to-use 3D models. Indian clients can now pay in local currency.

FREELANCERS

U.K. broadcasters Channel 4 and the BBC have revealed plans for a free, two-week online program to support the freelance community, delivered in partnership with the National Film and Television School. Starting in October, the initiative will include masterclasses, workshops, training and wellbeing sessions for the U.K.’s scripted and unscripted freelance production community. It will offer practical knowledge, skills and support on topics including financial planning, networking and development and will be open to all TV industry freelancers.

‘Harry Potter’ Star Evanna Lynch to Headline ‘Influenced!’ Inspired by Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ – Global Bulletin (2024)

FAQs

What influenced Oscar Wilde to write The Picture of Dorian Gray? ›

Wilde's own life

Scholars generally accept that Lord Henry is partly inspired by Wilde's friend Lord Ronald Gower. It was purported that Wilde's inspiration for Dorian Gray was the poet John Gray, but Gray distanced himself from the rumour. Some believe that Wilde used Robert de Montesquiou in creating Dorian Gray.

What is Oscar Wilde's writing style in The Picture of Dorian Gray? ›

So I would describe his writing style as a elegant, smart, provocative, perverse and dramatic one. His only novel, “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” is written rather in the dramatic than narrative convention (concise scenes, focus on conflicts between men etc.). Revealing art, however, he could not conceal himself.

What does Evanna Lynch think of JK Rowling? ›

The actor said “it's irresponsible to discuss such a delicate topic” as transgender rights on Twitter and “I wish [Rowling] wouldn't,” but she added, “That said, as a friend and admirer of Jo I can't forget what a generous and loving person she is.” Lynch received blowback at the time for supporting Rowling.

Was Evanna Lynch a Harry Potter fan? ›

Lynch was raised a Catholic. Lynch read the Harry Potter series for the first time at age eight and became a fan, reading and writing fan fiction about the series and sending letters to the author, J. K. Rowling.

Why was The Picture of Dorian Gray banned? ›

Wilde used The Picture of Dorian Gray as his autobiography claiming, “Basil Hallward is what I think I am: Lord Henry what the world thinks me: Dorian what I would like to be- in other ages perhaps.” Not only was this book banned because of the sexual undertones, it eventually helped send Wilde to a couple of years of ...

What does The Picture of Dorian Gray say about influence? ›

“There is no such thing as a good influence, Mr. Gray. All influence is immoral—immoral from the scientific point of view,” says Lord Henry to Dorian in their very first meeting, something that rings true throughout the novel.

What is the main message of The Picture of Dorian Gray? ›

Like all literary works, The Picture of Dorian Gray has many major themes that repeat throughout the story. The two most important of these themes are aestheticism and Faustian bargains. Aestheticism is a philosophical standpoint that argues in favor of beauty for beauty's sake and art for art's sake.

What does The Picture of Dorian Gray teach us? ›

Dorian Gray exposes the immorality of self-absorption, as Dorian's portrait becomes more disfigured with each one of Dorian's selfish acts. This self-absorption, then, appears to be an inevitable consequence of aestheticism.

What is the plot of The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde? ›

The work is an archetypal tale of a young man who purchases eternal youth at the expense of his soul. The story begins in the art studio of Basil Hallward, who is discussing a current painting with his witty and amoral friend Lord Henry Wotton.

What did Evanna Lynch suffer from? ›

Evanna suffered from Anorexia and spent two years in hospital from the age 11, she wrote to J.K to say how much she loved the books and that they gave her hope especially Lunacand that her dream was to be in the film.

Did Luna Lovegood have a crush on Harry Potter? ›

Although Harry and Luna share a touching friendship, with Harry naming his daughter after his friend and his mother Lily, there is never any hints of attraction between the two.

Who is Evanna Lynch in the cast of Harry Potter? ›

Evanna Patricia Lynch is an Irish actress. She played Luna Lovegood in the film and game adaptations of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.

Who is the weird blonde girl in Harry Potter? ›

Luna Lovegood is a fictional character in the Harry Potter series of novels by J. K. Rowling.

What happened to Evanna Lynch after Harry Potter? ›

She went on to play the iconic role in the Harry Potter films 5-8. Since then, she has continued to act on stage and screen and as a voiceover artist.

Is Luna Lovegood autistic? ›

J.K. Rowling did not explicitly write the character of Luna Lovegood as a person with Asperger's. But because she is a good writer, she created a character with a distinct personality that is also familiar in many ways.

What is the motivation of The Picture of Dorian Gray? ›

It is a philosophy that the book's author, Oscar Wilde, espoused in his own life. While there is nothing wrong with aestheticism as such, in The Picture of Dorian Gray, it evolves into hedonism. Hedonism is the pursuit of pleasure above all other things in life, rather than a simple appreciation of aesthetic beauty.

What is the historical context of The Picture of Dorian Gray? ›

Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray was published in 1890 in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine, and its assault on repressive Victorianism was immediately controversial. Though appreciated by some, the novel provoked hostile reactions from many members of the British press.

What perspective is The Picture of Dorian Gray written in? ›

Point of view The point of view is third person, omniscient. The narrator chronicles both the objective or external world and the subjective or internal thoughts and feelings of the characters.

Why teach The Picture of Dorian Gray? ›

Oscar Wilde's beautifully written novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, is a great way to introduce students to Aestheticism and the Gothic horror novel. An overview of the Aesthetic Movement and Gothic fiction will allow students to better identify elements from the philosophy and genre.

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